MISCELLANY 49
MRS BEETON’S PUDDINGS II
BARONESS PUDDING.
(Author's
Recipe.)
1244.
INGREDIENTS.—3/4 lb. of suet, 3/4 lb. of raisins weighed after being stoned,
3/4 lb. of flour, 1/2 pint of milk, 1/4 saltspoonful of salt.
Mode.—Prepare the suet, by carefully freeing it from skin,
and chop it finely; stone the raisins, and cut them in halves, and mix both
these ingredients with the salt and flour; moisten the whole with the above
proportion of milk, stir the mixture well, and tie the pudding in a floured
cloth, which has been previously wrung out in boiling water. Put the pudding
into a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil, without ceasing, 4-1/2
hours. Serve merely with plain sifted sugar, a little of which may be sprinkled
over the pudding.
Time.—4-1/2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons.
Seasonable in winter, when fresh fruit is not obtainable.
Note.—This pudding the editress cannot too highly
recommend. The recipe was kindly given to her family by a lady who bore the
title here prefixed to it; and with all who have partaken of it, it is an
especial favourite. Nothing is of greater consequence, in the above directions,
than attention to the time of boiling, which should never be less than
that mentioned.
BARBERRY TART.
1245.
INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of barberries allow 3/4 lb. of lump sugar; paste.
[Illustration:
LEAF IN PUFF-PASTE.]
Mode.—Pick the barberries from the stalks, and put the
fruit into a stone jar; place this jar in boiling water, and let it simmer very
slowly until the fruit is soft; then put it into a preserving-pan with the
sugar, and boil gently for 15 minutes; line a tartlet-pan with paste, bake it,
and, when the paste is cold, fill with the barberries, and ornament the tart
with a few baked leaves of paste, cut out, as shown in the engraving.
Time.—1/4 hour to bake the tart.
Average
cost, 4d. per pint.
Seasonable in autumn.
[Illustration:
BARBERRY.]
BARBERRIES (Berberris
vulgaris.)—A fruit of such great acidity, that even birds refuse to eat it.
In this respect, it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with sugar, it
makes a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the different modes of
preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or
comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and are used for various culinary purposes.
They are well calculated to allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with
fevers. The berries, arranged on bunches of nice curled parsley, make an
exceedingly pretty garnish for supper-dishes, particularly for white meats,
like boiled fowl ŕ la Béchamel, the three colours, scarlet, green, and white,
contrasting so well, and producing a very good effect.
BAKED BATTER PUDDING.
1246.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/4 pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 4
eggs, a little salt.
Mode.—Mix the flour with a small quantity of cold milk;
make the remainder hot, and pour it on to the flour, keeping the mixture well
stirred; add the butter, eggs, and salt; beat the whole well, and put the
pudding into a buttered pie-dish; bake for 3/4 hour, and serve with sweet
sauce, wine sauce, or stewed fruit. Baked in small cups, this makes very pretty
little puddings, and should be eaten with the same accompaniments as above.
Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BAKED BATTER PUDDING, with Dried or Fresh Fruit.
1247.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/4 pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 eggs, 2 oz. of
finely-shredded suet, 1/4 lb. of currants, a pinch of salt.
Mode.—Mix the milk, flour, and eggs to a smooth batter;
add a little salt, the suet, and the currants, which should be well washed,
picked, and dried; put the mixture into a buttered pie-dish, and bake in a
moderate oven for 1-1/4 hour. When fresh fruits are in season, this pudding is
exceedingly nice, with damsons, plums, red currants, gooseberries, or apples;
when made with these, the pudding must be thickly sprinkled over with sifted
sugar. Boiled batter pudding, with fruit, is made in the same manner, by
putting the fruit into a buttered basin, and filling it up with batter made in
the above proportion, but omitting the suet. It must be sent quickly to table,
and covered plentifully with sifted sugar.
Time.—Baked batter pudding, with fruit, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2
hour; boiled ditto, 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour, allowing that both are made with the
above proportion of batter. Smaller puddings will be done enough in 3/4 or 1
hour.
Average
cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons.
Seasonable at any time, with dried fruits.
BOILED BATTER PUDDING.
1248.
INGREDIENTS.—3 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 1 pint of milk, 3 tablespoonfuls of
flour, a little salt.
Mode.—Put the flour into a basin, and add sufficient milk
to moisten it; carefully rub down all the lumps with a spoon, then pour in the
remainder of the milk, and stir in the butter, which should be previously
melted; keep beating the mixture, add the eggs and a pinch of salt, and when
the batter is quite smooth, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down very
tightly, and put it into boiling water; move the basin about for a few minutes
after it is put into the water, to prevent the flour settling in any part, and
boil for 1-1/4 hour. This pudding may also be boiled in a floured cloth that
has been wetted in hot water; it will then take a few minutes less than when
boiled in a basin. Send these puddings very quickly to table, and serve with
sweet sauce, wine sauce, stewed fruit, or jam of any kind: when the latter is
used, a little of it may be placed round the dish in small quantities, as a
garnish.
Time.—1-1/4 hour in a basin, 1 hour in a cloth. Average
cost, 7d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
ORANGE BATTER PUDDING.
1249.
INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1-1/4 oz. of loaf sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls
of flour.
Mode.—Make the batter with the above ingredients, put it
into a well-buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 1 hour. As
soon as it is turned out of the basin, put a small jar of orange marmalade all
over the top, and send the pudding very quickly to table.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, with the marmalade, 1s.
3d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.
BAKED BREAD PUDDING.
1250.
INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of grated bread, 1 pint of milk, 4 eggs, 4 oz. of butter,
4 oz. of moist sugar, 2 oz. of candied peel, 6 bitter almonds, 1 tablespoonful
of brandy.
Mode.—Put the milk into a stewpan, with the bitter
almonds; let it infuse for 1/4 hour; bring it to the boiling point; strain it
on to the bread crumbs, and let these remain till cold; then add the eggs,
which should be well whisked, the butter, sugar, and brandy, and beat the
pudding well until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed; line the bottom of
a pie-dish with the candied peel sliced thin, put in the mixture, and bake for
nearly 3/4 hour.
Time.—Nearly 3/4 hour. Average cost, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.—A few currants may be substituted for the candied
peel, and will be found an excellent addition to this pudding: they should be
beaten in with the mixture, and not laid at the bottom of the pie-dish.
VERY PLAIN BREAD PUDDING.
1251.
INGREDIENTS.—Odd pieces of crust or crumb of bread; to every quart allow 1/2
teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 3 oz. of moist sugar, 1/2
lb. of currants, 1-1/4 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Break the bread into small pieces, and pour on them
as much boiling water as will soak them well. Let these stand till the water is
cool; then press it out, and mash the bread with a fork until it is quite free
from lumps. Measure this pulp, and to every quart stir in salt, nutmeg, sugar,
and currants in the above proportion; mix all well together, and put it into a
well-buttered pie-dish. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon, and place
the butter in small pieces over the top; bake in a moderate oven for 1-1/2
hour, and serve very hot. Boiling milk substituted for the boiling water would
very much improve this pudding.
Time.—1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 6d., exclusive of
the bread.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BOILED BREAD PUDDING.
1252.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of milk, 3/4 pint of bread crumbs, sugar to taste, 4
eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 3 oz. of currants, 1/4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.
Mode.—Make the milk boiling, and pour it on the bread
crumbs; let these remain till cold; then add the other ingredients, taking care
that the eggs are well beaten and the currants well washed, picked, and dried.
Beat the pudding well, and put it into a buttered basin; tie it down tightly
with a cloth, plunge it into boiling water, and boil for 1-1/4 hour; turn it
out of the basin, and serve with sifted sugar. Any odd pieces or scraps of
bread answer for this pudding; but they should be soaked overnight, and, when
wanted for use, should have the water well squeezed from them.
Time.—1-1/4 hour. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BREAD.—Bread
contains, in its composition, in the form of vegetable albumen and vegetable
fibrine, two of the chief constituents of flesh, and, in its incombustible
constituents, the salts which are indispensable for sanguification, of the same
quality and in the same proportion as flesh. But flesh contains, besides these,
a number of substances which are entirely wanting in vegetable food; and on
these peculiar constituents of flesh depend certain effects, by which it is
essentially distinguished from other articles of food.
BROWN-BREAD PUDDING.
1253.
INGREDIENTS.—3/4 lb. of brown-bread crumbs, 1/2 lb. of currants, 1/2 lb. of
suet, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 2
tablespoonfuls of cream, grated nutmeg to taste.
Mode.—Grate 3/4 lb. of crumbs from a stale brown loaf; add
to these the currants and suet, and be particular that the latter is finely
chopped. Put in the remaining ingredients; beat the pudding well for a few
minutes; put it into a buttered basin or mould; tie it down tightly, and boil
for nearly 4 hours. Send sweet sauce to table with it.
Time.—Nearly 4 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.
MINIATURE BREAD PUDDINGS.
1254.
INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 4 eggs, 2 oz. of butter,
sugar to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 1 teaspoonful of finely-minced
lemon-peel.
Mode.—Make the milk boiling, pour it on to the bread
crumbs, and let them soak for about 1/2 hour. Beat the eggs, mix these with the
bread crumbs, add the remaining ingredients, and stir well until all is
thoroughly mixed. Butter some small cups; rather more than half fill them with
the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour, and serve
with sweet sauce. A few currants may be added to these puddings: about 3 oz.
will be found sufficient for the above quantity.
Time.—20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 small puddings.
Seasonable at any time.
BAKED BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.
1255.
INGREDIENTS.—9 thin slices of bread and butter, 1-1/2 pint of milk, 4 eggs,
sugar to taste, 1/4 lb. of currants, flavouring of vanilla, grated lemon-peel
or nutmeg.
Mode.—Cut 9 slices of bread and butter not very thick, and
put them into a pie-dish, with currants between each layer and on the top.
Sweeten and flavour the milk, either by infusing a little lemon-peel in it, or
by adding a few drops of essence of vanilla; well whisk the eggs, and stir
these to the milk. Strain this over the bread and butter, and bake in a
moderate oven for 1 hour, or rather longer. This pudding may be very much
enriched by adding cream, candied peel, or more eggs than stated above. It
should not be turned out, but sent to table in the pie-dish, and is better for
being made about 2 hours before it is baked.
Time.—1 hour, or rather longer. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
BUTTER.—Butter
is indispensable in almost all culinary preparations. Good fresh butter, used
in moderation, is easily digested; it is softening, nutritious, and fattening,
and is far more easily digested than any other of the oleaginous substances
sometimes used in its place.
CABINET or
CHANCELLOR'S PUDDING.
1256.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 oz. of candied peel, 4 oz. of currants, 4 dozen sultanas, a
few slices of Savoy cake, sponge cake, a French roll, 4 eggs, 1 pint of milk,
grated lemon-rind, 1/4 nutmeg, 3 table-spoonfuls of sugar.
[Illustration:
CABINET PUDDING.]
Mode.—Melt some butter to a paste, and with it, well
grease the mould or basin in which the pudding is to be boiled, taking care
that it is buttered in every part. Cut the peel into thin slices, and place
these in a fanciful device at the bottom of the mould, and fill in the spaces
between with currants and sultanas; then add a few slices of sponge cake or
French roll; drop a few drops of melted butter on these, and between each layer
sprinkle a few currants. Proceed in this manner until the mould is nearly full;
then flavour the milk with nutmeg and grated lemon-rind; add the sugar, and
stir to this the eggs, which should be well beaten. Beat this mixture for a few
minutes; then strain it into the mould, which should be quite full; tie a piece
of buttered paper over it, and let it stand for 2 hours; then tie it down with
a cloth, put it into boiling water, and let it boil slowly for 1 hour. In
taking it up, let it stand for a minute or two before the cloth is removed;
then quickly turn it out of the mould or basin, and serve with sweet sauce
separately. The flavouring of this pudding may be varied by substituting for
the lemon-rind essence of vanilla or bitter almonds; and it may be made much
richer by using cream; but this is not at all necessary.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
A PLAIN CABINET or BOILED BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.
1257.
INGREDIENTS.—2 oz. of raisins, a few thin slices of bread and butter, 3 eggs, 1
pint of milk, sugar to taste, 1/4 nutmeg.
Mode.—Butter a pudding-basin, and line the inside with a
layer of raisins that have been previously stoned; then nearly fill the basin
with slices of bread and butter with the crust cut off, and, in another basin,
beat the eggs; add to them the milk, sugar, and grated nutmeg; mix all well
together, and pour the whole on to the bread and butter; let it stand 1/2 hour,
then tie a floured cloth over it; boil for 1 hour, and serve with sweet sauce.
Care must be taken that the basin is quite full before the cloth is tied over.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.
CANARY PUDDING.
1258.
INGREDIENTS.—The weight of 3 eggs in sugar and butter, the weight of 2 eggs in
flour, the rind of 1 small lemon, 3 eggs.
Mode.—Melt the butter to a liquid state, but do not allow
it to oil; stir to this the sugar and finely-minced lemon-peel, and gradually
dredge in the flour, keeping the mixture well stirred; whisk the eggs; add
these to the pudding; beat all the ingredients until thoroughly blended, and
put them into a buttered mould or basin; boil for 2 hours, and serve with sweet
sauce.
Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BAKED OR BOILED CARROT PUDDING.
1259.
INGREDIENTS.—1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, 4 oz. of suet, 1/4 lb. of stoned raisins,
3/4 lb. of carrot, 1/4 lb. of currants, 3 oz. of sugar, 3 eggs, milk, 1/4
nutmeg.
Mode.—Boil the carrots until tender enough to mash to a
pulp; add the remaining ingredients, and moisten with sufficient milk to make
the pudding of the consistency of thick batter. If to be boiled, put the
mixture into a buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 2-1/2
hours: if to be baked, put it into a pie-dish, and bake for nearly an hour;
turn it out of the dish, strew sifted sugar over it, and serve.
Time.—2-1/2 hours to boil; 1 hour to bake. Average cost,
1s. 2d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from September to March.
CARROTS,
says Liebig, contain the same kind of sugar as the juice of the sugar-cane.
ROYAL COBURG PUDDING.
1260.
INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of new milk, 6 oz. of flour, 6 oz. of sugar, 6 oz. of
butter, 6 oz. of currants, 6 eggs, brandy and grated nutmeg to taste.
Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter with the milk, add
the remaining ingredients gradually, and when well mixed, put it into
four basins or moulds half full; bake for 3/4 hour, turn the puddings out on a
dish, and serve with wine sauce.
Time.—3/4 hour. Average cost, 1s. 9d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.
CHERRY TART.
1261.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 lb. of cherries, 2 small tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, 1/2
lb. of short crust, No. 1210 or 1211.
Mode.—Pick the stalks from the cherries, put them, with
the sugar, into a deep pie-dish just capable of holding them, with a
small cup placed upside down in the midst of them. Make a short crust with 1/2
lb. of flour, by either of the recipes 1210 or 1211; lay a border round the
edge of the dish; put on the cover, and ornament the edges; bake in a brisk
oven from 1/2 hour to 40 minutes; strew finely-sifted sugar over, and serve hot
or cold, although the latter is the more usual mode. It is more economical to
make two or three tarts at one time, as the trimmings from one tart answer for
lining the edges of the dish for another, and so much paste is not required as
when they are made singly. Unless for family use, never make fruit pies in very
large dishes; select them, however, as deep as possible.
Time.—1/2 hour to 40 minutes.
Average
cost, in full season, 8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
Note.—A few currants added to the cherries will be found
to impart a nice piquant taste to them.
[Illustration:
CHERRY.]
CHERRIES.—According
to Lucullus, the cherry-tree was known in Asia in the year of Rome 680. Seventy
different species of cherries, wild and cultivated, exist, which are
distinguishable from each other by the difference of their form, size, and
colour. The French distil from cherries a liqueur Darned kirsch-waser (eau
de cérises); the Italians prepare, from a cherry called marusca, the
liqueur named marasquin, sweeter and more agreeable than the former. The
most wholesome cherries have a tender and delicate skin; those with a hard skin
should be very carefully masticated. Sweetmeats, syrups, tarts, entremets,
&c., of cherries, are universally approved.
COLD PUDDING.
1262.
INGREDIENTS.—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, sugar to taste, a little grated
lemon-rind, 2 oz. of raisins, 4 tablespoonfuls of marmalade, a few slices of
sponge cake.
Mode.—Sweeten the milk with lump sugar, add a little
grated lemon-rind, and stir to this the eggs, which should be well whisked;
line a buttered mould with the raisins, stoned and cut in half; spread the
slices of cake with the marmalade, and place them in the mould; then pour in
the custard, tie the pudding down with paper and a cloth, and boil gently for 1
hour: when cold, turn it out, and serve.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 1d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
COLLEGE PUDDINGS.
1263.
INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of bread crumbs, 6 oz. of finely-chopped suet, 1/4 lb. of
currants, a few thin slices of candied peel, 3 oz. of sugar, 1/4 nutmeg, 3
eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of brandy.
Mode.—Put the bread crumbs into a basin; add the suet,
currants, candied peel, sugar, and nutmeg, grated, and stir these ingredients
until they are thoroughly mixed. Beat up the eggs, moisten the pudding with
these, and put in the brandy; beat well for a few minutes, then form the
mixture into round balls or egg-shaped pieces; fry these in hot butter or lard,
letting them stew in it until thoroughly done, and turn them two or three
times, till of a fine light brown; drain them on a piece of blotting-paper
before the fire; dish, and serve with wine sauce.
Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 puddings. Seasonable at any time.
CURRANT DUMPLINGS.
1264.
INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of flour, 6 oz. of suet, 1/2 lb. of currants, rather more than
1/2 pint of water.
Mode.—Chop the suet finely, mix it with the flour, and add
the currants, which should be nicely washed, picked, and dried; mix the whole
to a limp paste with the water (if wanted very nice, use milk); divide it into
7 or 8 dumplings; tie them in cloths, and boil for 1-1/4 hour. They may be
boiled without a cloth: they should then be made into round balls, and dropped
into boiling water, and should be moved about at first, to prevent them from
sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Serve with a cut lemon, cold butter,
and sifted sugar.
Time.—In a cloth, 1-1/4 hour; without, 3/4 hour.
Average
cost, 9 d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration:
ZANTE CURRANTS.]
ZANTE
CURRANTS.—The dried fruit which goes by the name of currants in grocers' shops
is not a currant really, but a small kind of grape, chiefly cultivated in the
Morea and the Ionian Islands, Corfu, Zante, &c. Those of Zante are
cultivated in an immense plain, under the shelter of mountains, on the shore of
the island, where the sun has great power, and brings them to maturity. When
gathered and dried by the sun and air, on mats, they are conveyed to magazines,
heaped together, and left to cake, until ready for shipping. They are then dug
out by iron crowbars, trodden into casks, and exported. The fertile vale of
"Zante the woody" produces about 9,000,000 lbs. of currants annually.
In cakes and puddings this delicious little grape is most extensively used; in
fact, we could not make a plum pudding without the currant.
BOILED CURRANT PUDDING.
(Plain
and Economical.)
1265.
INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of flour, 1/2 lb. of suet, 1/2 lb. of currants, milk.
Mode.—Wash the currants, dry them thoroughly, and pick
away any stalks or grit; chop the suet finely; mix all the ingredients
together, and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding into a stiff
batter; tie it up in a floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for
3-1/2 hours; serve with a cut lemon, cold butter, and sifted sugar.
Time.—3-1/2 hours. Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BLACK or RED CURRANT PUDDING.
1266.
INGREDIENTS.—1 quart of red or black currants, measured with the stalks, 1/4
lb. of moist sugar, suet crust No. 1215, or butter crust No. 1213.
Mode.—Make, with 3/4 lb. of flour, either a suet crust or
butter crust (the former is usually made); butter a basin, and line it with
part of the crust; put in the currants, which should be stripped from the
stalks, and sprinkle the sugar over them; put the cover of the pudding on; make
the edges very secure, that the juice does not escape; tie it down with a
floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil from 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Boiled without a basin, allow 1/2 hour less. We have allowed rather a large
proportion of sugar; but we find fruit puddings are so much more juicy and
palatable when well sweetened before they are boiled, besides being more
economical. A few raspberries added to red-currant pudding are a very nice
addition: about 1/2 pint would be sufficient for the above quantity of fruit.
Fruit puddings are very delicious if, when they are turned out of the basin,
the crust is browned with a salamander, or put into a very hot oven for a few
minutes to colour it: this makes it crisp on the surface.
Time.—2-1/2 to 3 hours; without a basin, 2 to 2-1/2 hours.
Average
cost, in full season, 8d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
[Illustration:
CURRANTS.]
CURRANTS.—The
utility of currants, red, black, or white, has long been established in
domestic economy. The juice of the red species, if boiled with an equal weight
of loaf sugar, forms an agreeable substance called currant jelly, much
employed in sauces, and very valuable in the cure of sore throats and colds.
The French mix it with sugar and water, and thus form an agreeable beverage.
The juice of currants is a valuable remedy in obstructions of the bowels; and,
in febrile complaints, it is useful on account of its readily quenching thirst,
and for its cooling effect on the stomach. White and flesh-coloured currants
have, with the exception of the fullness of flavour, in every respect, the same
qualities as the red species. Both white and red currants are pleasant
additions to the dessert, but the black variety is mostly used for culinary and
medicinal purposes, especially in the form of jelly for quinsies. The leaves of
the black currant make a pleasant tea.
RED-CURRANT AND RASPBERRY TART.
1267.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of picked currants, 1/2 pint of raspberries, 3 heaped
tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, 1/2 lb. of short crust.
Mode.—Strip the currants from the stalks, and put them
into a deep pie-dish, with a small cup placed in the midst, bottom upwards; add
the raspberries and sugar; place a border of paste round the edge of the dish,
cover with crust, ornament the edges, and bake from 1/2 to 3/4 hour: strew some
sifted sugar over before being sent to table. This tart is more generally
served cold than hot.
Time.—1/2 to 3/4 hour.
Average
cost.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
[Illustration:
RASPBERRY.]
RASPBERRIES.—There
are two sorts of raspberries, the red and the white. Both the scent and flavour
of this fruit are very refreshing, and the berry itself is exceedingly
wholesome, and invaluable to people of a nervous or bilious temperament. We are
not aware, however, of its being cultivated with the same amount of care which
is bestowed upon some other of the berry tribe, although it is far from
improbable that a more careful cultivation would not be repaid by a
considerable improvement in the size and flavour of the berry; neither, as an
eating fruit, is it so universally esteemed as the strawberry, with whose
lusciousness and peculiarly agreeable flavour it can bear no comparison. In
Scotland, it is found in large quantities, growing wild, and is eagerly sought
after, in the woods, by children. Its juice is rich and abundant, and to many,
extremely agreeable.
BAKED CUSTARD PUDDING.
1268.
INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 pint of milk, the rind of 1/4 lemon, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar,
4 eggs.
Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan with the sugar and
lemon-rind, and let this infuse for about 4 hour, or until the milk is well
flavoured; whisk the eggs, yolks and whites; pour the milk to them, stirring
all the while; then have ready a pie-dish, lined at the edge with paste ready
baked; strain the custard into the dish, grate a little nutmeg over the top,
and bake in a very slow oven for about 1/2 hour, or rather longer. The
flavour of this pudding may be varied by substituting bitter almonds for the
lemon-rind; and it may be very much enriched by using half cream and half milk,
and doubling the quantity of eggs.
Time.—1/2 to 3/4 hour.
Average
cost, 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.—This pudding is usually served cold with fruit
tarts.
BOILED CUSTARD PUDDING.
1269.
INGREDIENTS.—1 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 4 eggs, flavouring to
taste.
Mode.—Flavour the milk by infusing in it a little
lemon-rind or cinnamon; whisk the eggs, stir the flour gradually to these, and
pour over them the milk, and stir the mixture well. Butter a basin that will
exactly hold it; put in the custard, and tie a floured cloth over; plunge it
into boiling water, and turn it about for a few minutes, to prevent the flour
from settling in one part. Boil it slowly for 1/2 hour; turn it out of the
basin, and serve. The pudding may be garnished with red-currant jelly, and
sweet sauce may be sent to table with it.
Time.—1/2 hour. Average cost, 7d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6
persons. Seasonable at any time.
